A network bridge is a Layer 2 device that connects two or more network segments together, thereby creating an aggregate network. It may be desirable to link network segments to the aggregated network that cannot be connected together directly. A port extender allows a network segment to be added to the aggregate network. A port extender attaches to a media access control (MAC) port of a bridge and provides additional MAC ports that are logically ports of the bridge to which it is attached, which may be referred to as a controlling bridge.